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Fair Trade and Dead Aid
4 hours ago
12 November, 2009
Salvation Army to set up stall at Melbourne's Sexpo
Cheryl CritchleyHerald Sun
November 11, 2009
SEX and the Salvos are not the most obvious bedmates.
But the Salvation Army will join the likes of Club X, Condom Kingdom, Fluffy Cuffs, Kinky Boots, Savage Lingerie and Awgasm at Melbourne's Sexpo this month.
Its stall will promote "Christian understanding of sexuality" and raise awareness about the human trafficking in prostitution.
Salvos social justice director Capt Danielle Strickland will distribute material on human trafficking, the sexualisation of girls and "Jesus loves porn stars" New Testaments, which tell how a porn star found God.
But she won't be preaching moral messages.
Capt Strickland is no stranger to sex; she visits many brothels as part of her battle against people being forced into prostitution.
While her stall may end up next to Sex Machines Australia or Dare Fetish and Fantasy, Capt Strickland is well prepared.
"We're not going there to condemn anybody. We aren't going to lecture people. We're going there to be available," she said.
Salvation Army officers attended Brisbane's Sexpo this year, where Capt Strickland said they had a great time and were warmly welcomed.
Coincidentally, the Salvos will also hold their annual commissioning of new ministers at the same venue - Melbourne's Exhibition Centre - on the same weekend as Sexpo.
Next door patrons will be enjoying an erotic film festival, a pole dancing competition and lingerie parades.
Sexpo runs from November 26-29 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.
Should the Salvos be at Sexpo? Please take the time to vote on our poll. Read more!
05 November, 2009
Asylum seekers threaten suicide
Danielle Strickland's thought provoking blog from 2nd November relating to an article on the ABC News website about Assylum Seekers is one well worth doubling up on. If you haven't already done so, I would suggest taking the time to read through the full article and Danielle's thoughts....
Some of the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers onboard Australian Customs ship the Oceanic Viking have threatened to kill themselves rather than go to Indonesia. Speaking to the ABC from a phone hidden from customs officers, the asylum seekers pleaded with Australia to give them a new home. read the rest here...
Asylum Seekers and how we receive them will remain a major justice issue in our future (and our past). Jesus once asked a question about who our neighbour is... I think these situations are opportunities to answer him. How's your hospitality these days? Ever consider hosting an asylum seeker family in your corps/church? You may be surprised to learn that The Salvation Army's history is well rooted and experienced in helping migrants find new opportunities and possibilities - including community and support and new family... perhaps we could be digging that old well for new opportunities to share the love of Jesus with those in need... just thinking.
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26 October, 2009
Just Give...
Have a read through the following article and then consider the significant difference you could make by purchasing something from the Just Gifts catalogue...“In mid-September a joint group from UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, the World Bank and the United Nations Population Division, released the mortality figures for 2008 of children under five. The central statistic was that last year 65 children out of every thousand died before the age of five. That translates to 8.8 million children.
Although 8.8 million children is an enormous figure, there is some consolation in the knowledge that there could have been many more. In 1990, for example, the global child mortality rate was 90 deaths per 1000 live births or 12.5 million children. Comparing the two figures we see that today 10,000 fewer children die every day than did nearly 20 years ago. Still, it is frustrating to know how easily preventable most of those 8.8 million deaths were.
While the child mortality figures are believed to be the lowest in world history, it is feared that next year's figures will tell a horrifying story. Food and fuel prices have backed off but remain high, and the full impact of the global financial crisis is yet to be felt. With poverty and health so inextricably linked, there are obvious grounds for fear.
But amidst the speculation, simple, low-cost measures like vaccines, insecticide-treated mosquito nets and Vitamin A supplementation continue to show just how easily preventable many, if not most, child deaths can be.
Countries like Malawi are a perfect example. In 1990, Malawi had an extremely high under five child mortality rate of 225 deaths per 1000 live births. That rate has now dropped significantly to 100 per 1000.
Correlative to those figures is the knowledge that in 2000 only three per cent of Malawi's children aged under five slept under a mosquito net — a key means of preventing malaria. By 2006 that had increased to 25 per cent. With limited resources, Malawi focused on a simple intervention that saved countless children's lives.
As expected, Australia's under five child mortality rate is among the lowest in the world at 5.8 deaths per 1000 live births (Save the Children figures show the indigenous rate at 12.5 deaths for every 1000 live births).”
Eureka Street “Child Mortality Breakthroughs” Matthew Smeal, October 21, 2009
The new Just Gifts catalogue is available now. Click here to request a copy to be sent out.
23 October, 2009
Trade as One - Just One
Just One Fair Trade purchase from all of us would lift One Million families out of poverty for one whole year.
To learn more or get involved, go to tradeasone.com
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To learn more or get involved, go to tradeasone.com
Surrender Youth Nite
We would love for you to bring your people along to the SURRENDER Youth Night 7:00pm on March 5, 2010 at Belgrave Heights Convention Centre in Melbourne. Would you consider adding it to your 2010 calendar and letting other youth leaders and pastors know?What’s it about and how can you help...
- Bart Campolo (yes he is Tony’s son) from the USA will be speaking together with a great line up of bands including Levi McGrath, Vox Congo and Hip Hop artist Ezeldin Deng.
- The aim of the night is to inspire kids to See Poverty around them, Hear from the lost and the least amongst us and Join in solidarity with those in society who are doing it tough.
- Attached is the flyer for you to send around to your networks – cost is only $10 per person
Check out our promo video on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36IZptQHbYk featuring some amazing young people on the journey!
There is also a Facebook page where you can encourage your friends to become a fan of SURRENDER
20 October, 2009
Further safeguard for survivors of trafficking – Complementary Protection
“Complementary protection is about helping vulnerable people – people at risk of the most serious forms of harm if returned to their home country”, Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
The Australian Government is attempting to pass a law that will provide further protection to the survivors of trafficking in Australia, to give them protection if being returned to the country they were trafficked from would place their safety in serious danger (such as those responsible for the trafficking targeting them for retribution). The proposed law is called the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009.
Australia is currently one of the only developed countries who do not have a complementary protection process in place. For example, Canada and the European Union already have systems of complementary protection in place.
Complementary protection refers to legal mechanisms for protecting people who fail to meet the definition of a refugee under the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. This would be the situation for most survivors of trafficking in Australia. STOP THE TRAFFIK Australia member organisations have had experience of a number of women trafficked to Australia where it was too dangerous for them to go home but they weren’t eligible for a refugee visa in Australia. Under the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is someone who faces persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
Under the current system people who do not meet the definition of a refugee, but whose lives or well-being would be in serious danger if returned to their country of origin, can be granted protection in Australia but only by a decision directly by the Minister of Immigration and Citizenship. This usually only happens at the last stage of the process of seeking protection, meaning that a person must go through a very long process to have their claim of protection actually considered.
Australia has clear obligations not to return a person seeking protection to a place where their lives or safety could be threatened (non-refoulement) through a number of the international treaties that Australia is signed on to such as the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention), the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Australia adheres to the Refugee Convention obligations of non-refoulement through the current protection visa process however the proposed Complementary Protection Bill ensures that Australia will fulfil the non-refoulement obligations of all of these international treaties.
The Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009 is set to be debated in one of the next Parliamentary sittings. While the Greens and Senator Xenophon have publicly indicated support for the Bill, the Coalition has indicated that they will oppose the Bill. Senator Fielding has not yet publicly declared his position on the Bill. Unless Senator Fielding supports the Bill or a Coalition Senator votes against the position of their party, the Bill will not be passed and Australia will continue to return people seeking protection, including survivors of trafficking, to situations of danger or even death.
For the text of the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009 go to: www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/migration_complementary/index.htm
Write a polite and respectful letters or e-mails to the following selected Senators (writing to the Senator in your state):
ACT
Senator Gary Humphries
Canberra Centre
148 Bunda Street
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Email: senator.humphries@aph.gov.au
Salutation: Dear Senator Humphries
NSW
Senator Marise Payne
PO Box CC18
Parramatta, NSW, 2123
Contact Link:
http://www.marisepayne.com/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=26
Salutation: Dear Senator Payne
QUEENSLAND
Senator Sue Boyce
PO Box 143
Albion DC, Qld, 4010
Email: online@sueboyce.com.au
Salutation: Dear Senator Boyce
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Senator Mary Jo Fisher
Ground Floor, 75 Hindmarsh Square
Adelaide, SA, 5000
Contact Link: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=HBE
Salutation: Dear Senator Fisher
TASMANIA
Senator Guy Barnett
Senator for Tasmania
33 George Street
Launceston Tas 7250
E-mail: senator.barnett@aph.gov.au
Salutation: Dear Senator Barnett
VICTORIA
Senator Judith Troeth
Level 9, 601 Bourke Street
Melbourne, Victoria, 3000
Contact Link: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=GX5
Salutation: Dear Senator Troeth
Senator Steve Fielding
Family First
255 Blackburn Road
Mount Waverley Vic 3149
Contact Link: http://www.stevefielding.com.au/contact/
Salutation: Dear Senator Fielding
WEST AUSTRALIA
Senator Michaelia Cash
Suite 8, Level 2 5 Tully Road,
East Perth, WA, 6004
Contact Link: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=I0M
Dear Senator Cash
Points to make in your letter or e-mail (Please note that letters are more effective than e-mails, but sending an e-mail is much, much better than doing nothing):
· Request that they vote in support of the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009.
· Australia is one of the only developed countries in the world who currently do not provide complementary protection.
· Australia has been urged to implement a complementary protection process by domestic and international bodies such as the Australian Human Rights Commission, the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the United Nations Committee Against Torture.
· Implementing the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009 will ensure that Australia upholds its non-refoulement obligations under the international conventions it is signed on to such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
· Voting for the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009 would ensure that Australia has a stronger system to prevent the return of those seeking asylum, including some victims of human trafficking, to situations of danger or where they may be murdered or tortured.
Read more!
The Australian Government is attempting to pass a law that will provide further protection to the survivors of trafficking in Australia, to give them protection if being returned to the country they were trafficked from would place their safety in serious danger (such as those responsible for the trafficking targeting them for retribution). The proposed law is called the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009.
Australia is currently one of the only developed countries who do not have a complementary protection process in place. For example, Canada and the European Union already have systems of complementary protection in place.
Complementary protection refers to legal mechanisms for protecting people who fail to meet the definition of a refugee under the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. This would be the situation for most survivors of trafficking in Australia. STOP THE TRAFFIK Australia member organisations have had experience of a number of women trafficked to Australia where it was too dangerous for them to go home but they weren’t eligible for a refugee visa in Australia. Under the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is someone who faces persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
Under the current system people who do not meet the definition of a refugee, but whose lives or well-being would be in serious danger if returned to their country of origin, can be granted protection in Australia but only by a decision directly by the Minister of Immigration and Citizenship. This usually only happens at the last stage of the process of seeking protection, meaning that a person must go through a very long process to have their claim of protection actually considered.
Australia has clear obligations not to return a person seeking protection to a place where their lives or safety could be threatened (non-refoulement) through a number of the international treaties that Australia is signed on to such as the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention), the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Australia adheres to the Refugee Convention obligations of non-refoulement through the current protection visa process however the proposed Complementary Protection Bill ensures that Australia will fulfil the non-refoulement obligations of all of these international treaties.
The Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009 is set to be debated in one of the next Parliamentary sittings. While the Greens and Senator Xenophon have publicly indicated support for the Bill, the Coalition has indicated that they will oppose the Bill. Senator Fielding has not yet publicly declared his position on the Bill. Unless Senator Fielding supports the Bill or a Coalition Senator votes against the position of their party, the Bill will not be passed and Australia will continue to return people seeking protection, including survivors of trafficking, to situations of danger or even death.
For the text of the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009 go to: www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/migration_complementary/index.htm
Write a polite and respectful letters or e-mails to the following selected Senators (writing to the Senator in your state):
ACT
Senator Gary Humphries
Canberra Centre
148 Bunda Street
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Email: senator.humphries@aph.gov.au
Salutation: Dear Senator Humphries
NSW
Senator Marise Payne
PO Box CC18
Parramatta, NSW, 2123
Contact Link:
http://www.marisepayne.com/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=26
Salutation: Dear Senator Payne
QUEENSLAND
Senator Sue Boyce
PO Box 143
Albion DC, Qld, 4010
Email: online@sueboyce.com.au
Salutation: Dear Senator Boyce
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Senator Mary Jo Fisher
Ground Floor, 75 Hindmarsh Square
Adelaide, SA, 5000
Contact Link: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=HBE
Salutation: Dear Senator Fisher
TASMANIA
Senator Guy Barnett
Senator for Tasmania
33 George Street
Launceston Tas 7250
E-mail: senator.barnett@aph.gov.au
Salutation: Dear Senator Barnett
VICTORIA
Senator Judith Troeth
Level 9, 601 Bourke Street
Melbourne, Victoria, 3000
Contact Link: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=GX5
Salutation: Dear Senator Troeth
Senator Steve Fielding
Family First
255 Blackburn Road
Mount Waverley Vic 3149
Contact Link: http://www.stevefielding.com.au/contact/
Salutation: Dear Senator Fielding
WEST AUSTRALIA
Senator Michaelia Cash
Suite 8, Level 2 5 Tully Road,
East Perth, WA, 6004
Contact Link: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=I0M
Dear Senator Cash
Points to make in your letter or e-mail (Please note that letters are more effective than e-mails, but sending an e-mail is much, much better than doing nothing):
· Request that they vote in support of the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009.
· Australia is one of the only developed countries in the world who currently do not provide complementary protection.
· Australia has been urged to implement a complementary protection process by domestic and international bodies such as the Australian Human Rights Commission, the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the United Nations Committee Against Torture.
· Implementing the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009 will ensure that Australia upholds its non-refoulement obligations under the international conventions it is signed on to such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
· Voting for the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009 would ensure that Australia has a stronger system to prevent the return of those seeking asylum, including some victims of human trafficking, to situations of danger or where they may be murdered or tortured.
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